Noctua NH-D14, Premium CPU Cooler with Dual NF-P14 PWM and NF-P12 PWM Fans (Brown)

My stock cpu fan went out. I needed a new one and noise was honestly my biggest concern. Everything else was secondary. I researched quite a bit and it seems to be quite random on who does well and who doesnt. So I just finally decided on this device and I'm extremely happy that I did.Pros.1. Extremely quite... its quieter than any cpu cooler I've ever bought (around 10). It cools very well and comes with even further noise reduction options (it offers what look like throttle limiters to keep it from going over a certain threshold - assuming your machine stays cool enough - this one stays plenty cool but I opted to not use them anyways I just didnt want to always be checking my temp).2. Great cooling - I stress tested it to a max of 54 C... compared to the stock fan that let it run up to a whopping 79C (mobo will shut it down at 83C)3. Setup - Instructions were very easy to follow and everything need was included. I had it setup in under 10 minutes. As stated previously you do need to remove your motherboard to place a new piece on the backside of the motherboard which is a bit of an annoyance but I do feel better knowing I have a solid piece of metal clamping it down now rather than that plastic junk I usually see. Aside from being solid, it came with grip/antivibration padding on the piece that goes underneath the motherboard.Cons1. Size... huge doesnt really do this thing justice. it is ENORMOUS. The fans lay over the memory and I had to remove my heat spreaders to place the fan on. I assume with the fan immediately above the memory it is pulling some heat off the memory as well so for now I'm ok with that.Final thoughts:This was a bit on the pricey side as far as fans go but I've had enough of the poor cooling or loud noise or erratic throttling fans. I decided to spend good money on a good fan for once rather than the usual 20 or 30 dollar fans and I'm glad I did. This specific product works as intended and is worth the money all the little things they do to make it easier let me know that this is a company I can trust with other products as well

Personally I liket the color, the red fans reflect my red case led so it works great style wise for me. However I did not base my decision on looks, I based it on performance. I spent hours reading reviews, researching the coolers, liquid vs air, thermal dynamics etc. I am building my first gaming system so I wanted a quality CPU COOLER. All my parts just arrived yesterday so I am still building the system, however I did a heat test on idle by leaving the fans running for 1 hour. The cooler was still cool to the touch and totally silent. For such large fans they make no noise at all using the standard cables, though Noctua do provide cables to lower the rpms and sound such as it is. Whisper quiet and cool. The installation guide is packaged nice, however it is basic. I looked on youtube and got a good idea on the installation process. The screws you need to tighten the cooler to the brackets are springy, which can give you some nice shock and sound absorbtion however it makes it a little more difficult to screw in, especially if - like me you were expecting a standard screw. Press down as you screw it in and you will be fine. Please note this cooler is huge! I have a full tower so it was ok for me, but be warned as it (roughly) as wide as a mouse mat/pad and as tall as 1 1/2 Iphone 5 phones. This sucker is huge! At $80 it is well priced for a top of the line cooler. You will need to use low profile RAM with this cooler and you need to have it installed before putting the cooler in as the fans block the first ram slot. You also need to remove the middle fan to screw the cooler in - easy thanks to the springy clips provided. Great product, I can't wait to finish putting my system together and seeing what it does under load! For those interested here are my specs: AMD Quad core 3.4 Gig CPU, Noctua cooler, ASUS Sabertooth 990fx Motherboard, 8 gigs Ram, ASUS GTX 720 PCIE graphic card, corsair 650 watt PSU, 1TB HD, Samsung Blu Ray Player, Samsung DVD writer/rewriter, Sony Multi Media reader, Cool Master HAF 932 Full Tower and Belkin 8 plug Surge Protector UPDATE: I have now upgraded to an Intel i7 4770K and the Noctua does a wonderful job of keeping that cool also. A couple very important notes for anyone buying to put on an Intel chip. Firstly the Nocuta DOES support LGA 1155, just use the same slot on the back plate, slot B I think. Also put the noctua backplate and mounting brackets on the motherboard BEFORE installing the motherboard into the tower as this is the only way the backplate will go on. I found the easiest way to put the backplate on was to turn the motherboard upside down on my desk and put the backplate on then, hold the backplate in place as I flip the motherboard and place back down on the desk. The Noctua still runs quiet and is giving me idle temps 4 degrees Celcius cooler than my stock cooler. I have not benchmarked it under load yet, but I will update once I have done so